Combination package

ABSTRACT

A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to the primary product. The combination package is of the type having a tubular sidewall member and a bottom closure member attached to the sidewall member. The bottom closure member is spaced apart from the lowermost portion of the sidewall member to define a secondary product containment volume. A secondary product is placed in this volume and held in place with a restraining means such as a glue spot or a film of material over the end of the sidewall member. The secondary product may be placed in position at the time of manufacture of the package.

United States Patent [191 Shveda Nov. 18, 1975 1 COMBINATION PACKAGE [75] Inventor: Andrew P. Sliveda, New Canaan,

Conn.

[73] Assignee: Owens-Illinois, lnc., Toledo, Ohio [22] Filed: June 11, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 368,673

Primary Examiner-William I. Price Assistant ExaminerDouglas B. Farrow Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Steve M. McLary; Edward J. Holler [57] ABSTRACT A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to the primary product. The combination package is of the type having a tubular sidewall member and a bottom closure member attached to the sidewall member. The bottom closure member is spaced apartfrom the lowermost portion of the sidewall member to define a secondary product containment volume. A secondary product is placed in this volume and held in place with a restraining means such as a glue spot or a film of material over the end of the sidewall member. The secondary product may be placed in position at the time of manufacture of the package.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 3,920,120

g f H 24B L FIG. 3B

COMBINATION PACKAGE to contain two separate products. More particularly,

.Pat. Nos. 1,514,379; 1,547,903; and 2,034,067 all show such a package. However, the prior art packages ;required a separate insert or compartment to achieve this result, thus creating a more expensive package. In addition, these packages required the secondary product to be placed on top of the primary product. This would make it difficult to use such packages for primary products such as popcorn, beer or soft drinks which are usually dispensed at their point of use. I have devised a package which requires no special insert and which contains a secondary product in a volume below the volume to be filled by the primary product. In addition, my package offers a positive control on reuse of such containers. It is not unknown for vendors to recover and reuse containers at sporting events, since such vendors are usually monitored on the basis of the number of containers used, not the volume of product sold. Thus, reuse of a container would allow a vendor to withhold the proceeds of a sale for himself..By providing a secondary product with the container, removal of the secondary product will give a quick visual indication to a purchaser that the container has already been used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My invention is a combination package for a primary product and a secondaryproduct complementary to the primary product. The package is made up of the following elements: a tubular sidewall containment member; a bottom member closing the lower portion of the tubular member, the bottom member being spacedapart from the lowermost portion of the tubular member to define a primary product containment volume above the bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below the bottom member; a sec- .ondary product positioned in the secondary product containment volume; and means for restraining the secondary product against accidental removal from the secondary product containment volume. 1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THEv DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the package of the present invention; 1

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the package of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, in cross section, of a third embodiment of the package of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the lowermost portion of a fourth embodiment of the present invention illustrating a modified bottom member and another restraining means for the secondary product;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the lowermost portion of a fifth embodiment of the present invention illustrating a modification of the tubular sidewall member to accept a snap cap to retain the secondary product; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the lowermost portion of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 illustrating a modified form of restraining means for the secondary product.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1 and 2 show two possible embodiments of the present invention. Both FIGS. 1 and 2 are essentially identical in concept, but show two different possible aspects of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a combination package 10 for a primary product and a secondary product which is complementary to the primary product. FIG. 2, likewise, shows a combination package 12 for a primary product and a secondary product which is complementary to the primary product. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the combination package 10 is made up of a tubular sidewall containment member 14, a bottom member 16, a secondary product 18, and a means for restraining the secondary product 18 in its position. In FIG. 1, the bottom member 16 is spaced apart from the lowermost portion of the tubular member 14 to define a primary product containment volume 22, which is above the bottom member 16, and

.a secondary product containment volume 24, which is below the bottom member 16. The secondary product 18 is positioned in the secondary product containment volume 24. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the means for restraining the secondary product 18 against accidental removal from the secondary product containment volume is a spot of glue or adhesive material 20, which interconnects the secondary product 18 and the bottom member 16. The combination package 10 shown in FIG. 1 is of a shape and size which is primarily adapted to contain a product such as ice cream. In such a case, the secondary product 18 could be a sauce for the ice cream or a spoon for eating the ice cream.

In FIG. 2, the combination package 12 is of a somewhat different shape than that of the combination package 10 shown in FIG. 1, and would be particularly adapted to contain a product such as popcorn or beer. The combination package 12, likewise, has a tubular sidewall containment member 14A and a bottom member 16A. As was the case before, the bottom member 16A is positioned above the lowermost portion of the tubular sidewall member 14A to define a primary product containment volume 22A above the bottom member 16A and a secondary product containment volume 24A below the bottom member 16A. Again, a secondary product 18A is contained within the secondary product containment volume 24A. This secondary product 18A is held in place with an adhesive material 20A which interconnects the secondary product 18A with the bottom member 16A. In the case of the combination package 12 shown in FIG. 2, the secondary product 18A could be a napkin or a small package of peanuts or other such food product which could be complementary to the primary contents of the combination package 12. For example, if the combination package 12 were to contain popcorn, the secondary product 18A could be a napkin to allow one to clean ones fingers after having eaten the popcorn contained within the primary product volume 22A. As was pointed out previously, the removal of the secondary product 18 or 18A gives a distinct and readily apparent visual proof that the combination package 10 or 12 has 3 been used.

The precise material used to make the combination package 12 is of importance only with respect to the primary product which it will be required to contain. In some situations, the combination package could be made of a coated paper material to resist either liquids or oils, in which case the bottom member 16 or 16A would most typically be formed as a separate part and then mated with the tubular sidewall containment member 14 or 14A during the manufacturing process. This type of construction lends itself most readily to the formation of a secondary product containment volume .24 or 24A. A preferred type of construction is of the type wherein the sidewall containment member 14 or 14A is of a generally frusto-conical shape, to allow stacking, and wherein there is a lapped side seam and the bottom member 16 or 16A is attached with a double seam. This construction is generally shown in FIG. 6. However, it would also be possible to form the entire combination package 10 or 12 as an integral package from a thermoplastic type material. In such case, it would be necessary to configure the mold such that the secondary product containment volume 24 or 24A would be formed during the molding process. In this case, the bottom member 16 or 16A would be formed as an integral part of the tubular sidewall containment member 14 or 14A during the initial manufacturing process.

FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a number of methods or :means for restraining a secondary product 18 within the secondary product containment volume 24. In FIG. 3, a combination package 10A is shown having a somewhat modified tubular sidewall containment member 114B. The tubular sidewall member 14B is modified in that it contains an annular circumferential groove 26 formed near the lowermost portion of the tubular sidewall member 14B on the interior thereof. Above the groove 26, is a bottom closure member 16B. In this situation, a secondary product 18B is positioned adjacent to the bottom member 16B, and is held in position with a flat disk member 28, which is pressed into position in the groove 26, and held in position in the groove 26. In this case, it is the disk 28 which serves as a means for restraining the secondary product 18B in a secondary product volume 24B. The bottom member 16B is attached to the tubular sidewall member 14B, and a primary product containment volume 228 is defined by the area above the bottom closure member 16B that is confined by the sidewall member 14B. The disk 28 may be provided with a finger hole 30 to facilitate removal of the disk 28 to allow the ultimate consumer to remove the secondary product 18B.

With respect to FIG. 4, a configuration is shown for a particular combination package 10 where difficulty might arise in providing a sufficient secondary product volume. That is, the configuration of a particular package may make it difficult to provide the relatively large space required to exist between the bottom member 16 and the lowermost portion of the tubular sidewall member 14. As shown in FIG. 4, a modified bottom member 16C is attached to a tubular sidewall containment member 14C. The bottom closing member 16C is arched upwardly and thus provides a secondary product containment volume 24C as before. However, in this case, the volume 24C is provided by the arch of the bottom member 16C, and the distance between the point of attachment of the bottom member 16C and the lowermost portion of the tubular sidewall member 14C is relatively short compared to the other examples cited. In this case, the secondary product 18C may be contained with the adhesive material 20 or 20A, as previously noted, or may be confined in place with a sealing disk 32, which is frictionally engaged with the tubular sidewall member 14C. The disk 32 would preferably be made of an inexpensive, yet somewhat resilient material, such as a thermoplastic or paper. It would be necessary, of course, to make the disk 32 somewhat larger in diameter than the space which it must close to ensure a proper frictional engagement and fit. A lifting tab 34 may be integrally formed with the disk 32 to facilitate removal of the disk 32 from the engagement with the tubular sidewall member 14C to allow removal of the secondary product 18C. It should be noted, of course, that a finger hole such as that shown at 30 in FIG. 3 could be substituted for the tab 34, and likewise, the tab 34 could be substituted for the finger hole 30 in the configuration shown in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 5, yet another modified tubular sidewall containment member 14D is shown. The sidewall member 14D has formed on its lowermost peripheral region a circumferential radially extending bead 36. Spaced apart from the bead 36 is a bottom member 16D for closing the bottom portion of the tubular sidewall member 14D, again defining a secondary product containment volume 24D and a primary product containment volume 22D. With the configuration shown in FIG. 5, once a secondary product 18D has been inserted in the secondary product containment volume 24D, a conventional snap cap 38 may be placed in position and held by the bead 36. Such caps are conventional and well known in the art and should require no further explanation to one skilled in the art.

Finally, FIG. 6 shows a portion of a configuration substantially identical to FIG. 1. In this situation, the secondary product 18 contained within the secondary product containment volume 24, is not held in place with an adhesive material 20 as shown in FIG. 1. Rather, a film of material 40 is placed over the end of the tubular member 14 adjacent to the secondary product containment volume and secured in place. The film of material 40 may be any of a number of materials which are well known in the art. For example, a thermoplastic shrink film may be placed over the end of the tubular member 14 and heat-shrunk in place to secure the secondary product 18. Alternatively, a section of a metallic foil which has been treated with an adhesive could be secured to obtain the same results. Likewise, a paper seal could be used to close the end of the tubular member 14 to retain the secondary product 18 in its assigned volume 24. With the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the ultimate consumer simply rips the film 40 away to obtain the secondary product 18 for use. It should be noted that the thickness of the film 40 in FIG. 6 has been distorted for ease of explanation. The film 40 is actually quite thin and not as thick as shown in FIG. 6. This thin film 40 allows the entire package to retain nesting features which could be designed into the package.

The secondary product 18 may be insertedv into the secondary product containment volume 24 at the time of manufacture of the package. At this time, the means for restraining the secondary product 18 would also be employed to ensure that the secondary product 18 remained in its proper location until such time as it was utilized by the ultimate consumer. As previously noted, this restraining means may assume a number of config- 'urations as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,3, 4, 5 and 6.

What I'claim is:

l. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product, comprising, in combination:

a tubular sidewall containment member;

a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member;

secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and

a heat-shrunk film of thermoplastic material in engagement with the exterior surface of said tubular sidewall member and extending over the open end of said tubular sidewall member adjacent said secondary product containment volume.

2. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product, comprising, in combination:

a tubular sidewall containment member;

a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member;

a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and v a film of thermoplastic material adhered to the exterior surface of said tubular sidewall member and extending over the open end of said tubular sidewall member adjacent said secondary product containment volume.

3. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product, comprising, in combination:

a tubular sidewall containment member;

a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member;

a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and

a sheet of metallic foil adhered to the exterior surface of said tubular sidewall member and extending LII 6 over the open end of said tubular sidewall member adjacent said secondary product containment volume.

4. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product, comprising, in combination:

a tubular sidewall containment member;

a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member, said tubular sidewall member including a circumferentially extending groove on the interior surface thereof adjacent the lower end of said tubular sidewall member, said groove defining a concave depression on the interior of said tubular member and a convex ridge in the exterior surface of said tubular member;

a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and

a disc member in engagement with said groove in said secondary product containment volume with said secondary product being positioned between said bottom member and said disc member for restraining said secondary product against accidental removal from said secondary product containment volume.

5. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product comprising, in combination:

a tubular sidewall containment member;

a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member;

a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and

a sealing disc, having a diameter slightly greater than the inside diameter of said secondary product containment volume, in frictional engagement with the interior of said tubular sidewall member in said secondary product containment volume with said secondary product being positioned between said bottom member and said sealing disc for restraining said secondary product against accidental removal from said secondary product containment volume. 

1. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product, comprising, in combination: a tubular sidewall containment member; a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member; a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and a heat-shrunk film of thermoplastic material in engagement with the exterior surface of said tubular sidewall member and extending over the open end of said tubular sidewall member adjacent said secondary product containment volume.
 2. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product, comprising, in combination: a tubular sidewall containment member; a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member; a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and a film of thermoplastic material adhered to the exterior surface of said tubular sidewall member and extending over the open end of said tubular sidewall member adjacent said secondary product containment volume.
 3. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product, comprising, in combination: a tubular sidewall containment member; a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member; a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and a sheet of metallic foil adhered to the exterior surface of said tubular sidewall member and extending over the open end of said tubular sidewall member adjacent said secondary product containment volume.
 4. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product, comprising, in combination: a tubular sidewall containment member; a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member, said tubular sidewall member including a circumferentially extending groove on the interior surface thereof adjacent the lower end of said tubular sidewall member, said groove defining a concave depression on the interior of said tubular member and a convex ridge in the exterior surface of said tubular member; a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and a disc member in engagement with said groove in said secondary product containment volume with said secondary product being positioned between said bottom member and said disc member for restraining said secondary product against accidental removal from said secondary product containment volume.
 5. A combination package for a primary product and a secondary product complementary to said primary product comprising, in combination: a tubular sidewall containment member; a bottom member closing the lower portion of said tubular member, said bottom member being in a spaced-apart relationship with respect to the lowermost portion of said tubular member to thereby define a primary product containment volume above said bottom member and a secondary product containment volume below said bottom member; a secondary product positioned in said secondary product containment volume; and a sealing disc, having a diameter slightly greater than the inside diameter of said secondary product containment volume, in frictional engagement with the interior of said tubular sidewall member in said secondary product containment volume with said secondary product being positioned between said bottom member and said sealing disc for restraining said secondary product against accidental removal from said secondary product containment volume. 